Introductory Differential Equations Mathematica Lab Manual

The purpose of this companion volume to our text is to provide instructors (and eventu ally students) with some additional information to ease the learning process while further documenting the implementations of Mathematica and ODE. In an ideal world this volume would not be necessary, since we have systematically worked to make the text unambiguous and directly useful, by providing in the text worked examples of every technique which is discussed at the theoretical level. However, in our teaching we have found that it is helpful to have further documentation of the various solution techniques introduced in the text. The subject of differential equations is particularly well-suited to self-study, since one can always verify by hand calculation whether or not a given proposed solution is a bona fide solution of the differential equation and initial conditions. Accordingly, we have not reproduced the steps of the verification process in every case, rather content with the illustration of some basic cases of verification in the text. As we state there, students are strongly encouraged to verify that the proposed solution indeed satisfies the requisite equation and supplementary conditions.

Teaches students to use Mathematica to solve problems in calculus with student projects and weekly labs. This is Version 2.2.

This text is meant to be a hands-on lab manual that can be used in class every day to guide the exploration of the theory and applications of differential and integral calculus. For the most part, labs can be used individually or in a sequence. Each lab consists of an explanation of material with integrated exercises. Some labs are split into multiple subsections and thus exercises are separated by those subsections. The exercise sections integrate problems, technology, Mathematica R visualization, and Mathematica CDFs that allow students to discover the theory and applications of differential and integral calculus in a meaningful and memorable way.

The first edition (94301-3) was published in 1995 in TIMS and had 2264 regular US sales, 928 IC, and 679 bulk. This new edition updates the text to Mathematica 5.0 and offers a more extensive treatment of linear algebra. It has been thoroughly revised and corrected throughout.

This text is for courses that are typically called (Introductory) Differential Equations, (Introductory) Partial Differential Equations, Applied Mathematics, and Fourier Series. Differential Equations is a text that follows a traditional approach and is appropriate for a first course in ordinary differential equations (including Laplace transforms) and a second course in Fourier series and boundary value problems. Some schools might prefer to move the Laplace transform material to the second course, which is why we have placed the chapter on Laplace transforms in its location in the text. Ancillaries like Differential Equations with Mathematica and/or Differential Equations with Maple would be recommended and/or required ancillaries. Because many students need a lot of pencil-and-paper practice to master the essential concepts, the exercise sets are particularly comprehensive with a wide range of exercises ranging from straightforward to challenging. Many different majors will require differential equations and applied mathematics, so there should be a lot of interest in an intro-level text like this. The accessible writing style will be good for non-math students, as well as for undergrad classes.